'The Bachelorette': The most excruciating moments from a deeply uncomfortable finale

Paul Hebert / ABC

Becca Kufrin ponders her future in the Maldwives during the season finale of "The Bachelorette."

Becca Kufrin ponders her future in the Maldwives during the season finale of "The Bachelorette."

(Paul Hebert / ABC)

Emily YahrWashington Post

During "The Bachelorette" season finale on Monday night, host Chris Harrison informed the audience that the episode would include "an absolutely devastating heartbreak, the likes of which we have never really witnessed before on this show," and "a breakup so painful, to be honest, it's a little bit difficult to watch."

"What you're about to see, no words can describe," Harrison said at one point. "It is raw. It is real. It is painful. I have been doing this show since the beginning and I have really never seen anything like this."

Okay, we get it! So, did it live up to the breathless hype?

Well - not really. As far as emotional finales go, it's hard to top last season of "The Bachelor," when Arie Luyendyk Jr. proposed to Becca Kufrin . . . only to change his mind and break up with her to go back to the runner-up, Lauren Burhnam.

It was all captured on camera in its hideously awkward glory, but there was one upside: Becca was named this season's bachelorette. So now it was her turn to experience a deeply uncomfortable season finale, where she was in love with two people but had to break someone's heart on national television.

Anyway, the episode wasn't as bad as Arie's, but there were still some upsetting scenes during the finale, in which Becca got engaged to Garrett Yrigoyen and dumped Blake Horstmann. Here were some of the excruciating moments:

1) Becca's uncle grilled Garrett about his first marriage.

Becca made it clear that she was in love with both Blake and Garrett, and had no idea whom to choose. She long assumed she would pick Blake, though in the last few weeks, Garrett started to make quite an impression.

So during her last trip with the final two suitors in the Maldives, she brought her family to help make a decision. A good idea in theory, though not ideal for the guys when the questions got personal. Becca's Uncle Chuck was on hand to pry into Garrett's past; specifically, Garrett's extremely brief first marriage.

"So, how did you get into the position where you married a woman that you ended the relationship two months later?" Uncle Chuck asked.

"Yeah," said Garrett, looking not thrilled to answer the question. He basically blamed his ex-wife, saying he was taught not to be a quitter - but shortly after they tied the knot, there was a "big blowout" between her and his family. "I essentially realized that it was never going to work, and that was the toughest decision I ever had to make in my life," Garrett said.

As they left, Becca later asked Garrett, "Who was toughest on you?"

"Uncle Chuck came in hot," he admitted.

2) Blake's meltdown as he had a premonition about his future.

Becca's family went a bit easier on Blake, possibly because they preferred him as Becca's future fiance - while everyone said nice things about Garrett, they also kept hinting that Blake might be more on her level and "challenge" her. (Translation: Garrett's not the brightest?)

However, producers did splice together a supercut of Becca's family reminding Blake that one man was going to be extremely heartbroken at the end of this.

"How would you feel if she didn't pick you, would you be okay?" Becca's mom asked.

Eventually, Blake started to freak out in his confessionals. "She's gonna pick Garrett," he mumbled to the camera, in a moment of clarity.

3) The actual Blake rejection.

Still, Blake didn't let premonitions get him down. Sweat pouring down his face (apparently it gets hot in the Maldives), Blake launched into a lovely tribute to Becca as they stood together on a beautiful perch overlooking the crystal clear water of the Indian Ocean.

"You're the most sincere, honest, compassionate, goofy, funny, intelligent, truly genuinely beautiful person inside and out," he said dreamily, a Neil Lane engagement ring burning a hole in his pocket. "I've been waiting for this day and this moment for quite some time now . . .Will you let me spend the rest of my life making you smile?"

Becca had to stop him right there. "Wait," she said. It was a no. She gave a somewhat confusing explanation, saying that because they had such a solid relationship from the beginning, she realized that she was overlooking some of the other guys. And there was someone else that she couldn't live without.

"I think there's a better fit for us out there," she said.

Blake instantly fell apart. "I didn't expect this," he said, as the camera eagerly zoomed in on the mix of extreme sweat and tears.

4) The aftermath.

Blake numbly walked off, and instead of letting him just zoom away in the limo, Becca followed - she got emotional as well, and tried to assure him that this wasn't his fault.

"How could I be so wrong?" Blake asked softly.

"You weren't wrong though. That's the thing," she urged him.

"I am wrong," Blake repeated.

"I was right there with you. I was. I never want you to doubt yourself," Becca said, getting choked up. "I know what it feels like to feel this way, and I know the feeling where you question everything, and how could you be wrong, and you weren't wrong. You weren't."

Becca added that for the longest time, she really thought she would choose him. That revelation helped. Eventually, Becca walked away to cry and semi-hyperventilate, and Blake went to sob hysterically as he wiped down his face with a towel.

"I can't believe this just happened," he said tearfully to the camera. "I have to go through all this alone. "

Okay, Harrison, we'll give that one to you - that was pretty brutal.

5) The Becca and Blake reunion.

Moments later, Becca and Garrett got engaged and couldn't be happier. Of course, in between their joy, we had to be reminded of Blake's pain. He showed up for the live after-show, and sat for an uncomfortable interview with Becca.

There was a bit of closure, as Becca reiterated that he didn't do anything wrong. She did offer one curious comment about how when she thought about the future, Blake's inclination to "get more in [his] head" made her worry about how he would handle a serious situation, like a sick family member or child.

"That's when I just started to question the longevity of it," Becca said.

Blake didn't have any follow-up questions to that one. "I do wish you all the happiness," he told her sadly.

Still, Harrison tried to console Blake the best way he knew how. "You have broken the Internet," Harrison said. "The outpouring of love and support for you tonight has been amazing."